When a SnoopingLittleKid, DamselInDistress, or FauxActionGirl (or the occasional [[DistressedDude unlucky guy]]) is captured by the villain, they're usually restrained in some fashion, and to keep them from crying out for TheHero, they're usually silenced as well. In the olden days, this was usually accompanied by some form of fantastical DeathTrap to add to the suspense.

Nowadays, the victim's cell phone will invariably ring and the villain will pick it up and answer, "Sorry, she can't come to the phone right now ... she's [[{{Pun}} all tied up]] at the moment." ([[NeverHeardThatOneBefore Villains never get tired of this one]]. [[ObligatoryJoke Never.]] ''[[UndeadHorseTrope EVER]].'' In fact, there have been a few cases where the ''victim'' has said it to whoever is calling if she's somehow able to speak at the moment, although she usually needs a ''very'' good reason for it.)

Of course, in fiction, using plain old rope is always considered better than handcuffs or other devices used for restraint for some reason, while a gag is always considered better than something to keep the victim sedated. (Even if the villain was smart enough to use chloroform to capture the victim in the first place, he never thinks of using it again when she wakes up. Of course, in these situations, RealityIsUnrealistic.)

To the captors themselves, they're likely to say "IHaveYouNowMyPretty" or "YouGotSpunk" or some variation/combination of the two. Both of which usually inspire the DefiantCaptive to be extra defiant.

Sometimes this is done for humor instead. For example, a character who is considered annoying might be tied up by the group simply to get that person out of the way. Other times, someone might be tied up humorously as the result of some mishap.

When this trope is played for dead serious drama, you can expect, in many cases, very dark lighting and only glimpses of the bonds. It generally tends to be more light-hearted adventures that actually show a lot of rope. In those cases, part of the fun is often seeing the hero escape, or try to escape, the bonds, so there's a lot of emphasis on showing the bonds, the struggling, and the escape or rescue. When it's played for drama, the emphasis is on how terrible the captive feels, so there's more focus on facial expressions and less on the bonds.

'''Related tropes include:'''

[[index]]* AllWebbedUp -- when spiders (or related beings) do the binding.* BagOfKidnapping -- when the captive is tied in a sack.* BangingForHelp -- when a bound captive tries to make noise to get attention.* BenchBreaker -- Instead of cutting their bindings with a ConvenientlyPlacedSharpThing, they break the bench or chair they are tied to.* CarpetRolledCorpse -- When the body rolled up inside a rug isn't dead.* ChainedHeat -- when two characters are chained to each other.* ChainedToABed -- often played for comedy... but it can just as easily be played for drama.* ChainedToARailway -- the classic "tied to the tracks" cliché.* ChainedToARock -- and left to die, either by a monster or by exposure.* ChainsOfLove -- to further a romantic plot.* CombatTentacles -- when the tentacles pierce or hurt their victim.* ControllableHelplessness -- when the player has control over a captive in a video game.* ConvenientlyPlacedSharpThing -- how many captives get free on their own.* ConveyorBeltODoom -- when a bound captive is placed on a conveyor belt leading to death.* DamselInDistress -- a female character who gets tied up a lot.* DeathTrap -- what many bound captives get placed in for melodrama.* DelayingTheRescue -- when the hero leaves the damsel tied up so he can accomplish some other task* DistressedDude -- a male character who gets tied up a lot.* GulliverTieDown -- when the tie-ers are much smaller than the tie-ee.* HandGagging -- may be used for kidnapping purposes, some of the time.* InconvenientItch -- A common result of being tied up in comedic works.* KindRestraints -- when they are tied up by their allies for a good reason.* KnottyTentacles -- when a being with long, stretchy limbs are tied up with their own appendages.* LockedUpAndLeftBehind -- when the person is tied up and then forgotten.* MummyWrap -- Individuals are restrained by completely or partially mummifying them.* StrappedToABomb -- a character gets tied up and fastened to some sort of explosive device.* StrappedToAnOperatingTable -- a character gets strapped to a chair or operating table in a Mad Science context, usually to have [[PlayingWithSyringes things done to them]].* StrappedToARocket -- a character is tied to a launching rocket.* TentacleRope -- when a living thing restrains someone with its tentacles.* TribalCarry -- when someone is tied to a pole at the hands and feet and carried away.* UnwillingSuspension -- when someone is bound and left dangling.* WithMyHandsTied -- a popular BadassBoast.

[[folder: Advertising]]* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dC0_lVaiTQ This Sunsilk commercial right here]]. Tied to a chair with quite a lot of rope, and having her hair "tortured". A lot of rope.* Happens in this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qac2MF5wrn0 Listerine commercial]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Art]]* If you go to a sites like Website/DeviantArt and input "Bound and Gagged" along with the name of any female character you want into the search engine, you should [[RuleThirtyFour get a lot of results.]] In fact, you could likely narrow your search down by punching one of the related Tropes above into it; most of them should work. Artists never seem to get tired of it. ** Not to 'worry', but there's also camps of people having [[DistressedDude the GUYS]] tied up and gagged. Rarer than the ladies, but still there.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film-Animated]]* After Torchesac/Oily-creep/[=McCreep=] steals the magic flute the night before in {{WesternAnimation/The Smurfs and the Magic Flute}}, Lady Prattle finds Peewit like this in his room.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Manhwa]]* PlayedForDrama in the second manhwa of ''Manhwa/TheBreaker'', ''New Waves.'' When it's revealed that the doctor who helped Shiwoon overcome several members of the S.U.C was only trying to get close to him, Shiwoon is then shown StrappedToAnOperatingTable. It turned out that the doctor was after him for the {{Phlebotinum}} he was [[PhlebotinumRebel given in the previous manwa.]] He's given two options: join the S.U.C, or have his blood turned into a powerful {{Phlebotinum}} that will help the S.U.C qonquer Seoul. Since the doctor is [[spoiler: responsible for his mother's severe injuries in an S.U.C. attack]], he naturally refuses. So, the doctor promptly shoves a gag in his mouth and gets ready to turn him into a living blood bank.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]* Diana Palmer from ''ComicStrip/ThePhantom'' - it seemed in the early years nearly every story had Diana kidnapped and tied and gagged by an assortment of villains.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pinball]]* In ''Pinball/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkleAndFriends'', Nell is tied to a log headed towards a buzzsaw in the sawmill.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]* During the {{evil versus evil}} feud between Wrestling/KurtAngle and Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield's Cabinet, Angle bound and gagged diva search participant Joy Giovanni and threw her in the back of JBL's limo to frame him. (The probable cause was that Giovanni was herself feuding with the Cabinet's "publicist", Amy Weber). The hope was that Wrestling/TheBigShow would come after JBL, as {{the giant}} had taken on the little non wrestler as his charge.* Wrestling/{{Melina}} ordered [[Wrestling/JohnMorrison Johnny Nitro]] and Joey Mercury to abduct WWE women's champion Wrestling/TrishStratus on Monday Night Raw and this is how they presented Stratus to her.* One of the standout embarrassments Wrestling/{{Chavo Guerrero| Jr}} suffered in Wrestling/WorldWrestlingFederation (and there are many) was being bound and gagged by Wrestling/{{Hornswoggle}} after being forced to wear a cow suit.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* The opening vignette for ''TabletopGame/InNomine'' includes a (possibly) more benign use of the trope. The Cherub Tariel, assigned to protect the mortal woman Patricia, has to drive out to meet a contact but doesn't dare let harm come to his charge -- so he binds and gags her in the passenger seat next to him so he can keep her safe (making sure she's carefully seat-belted, of course). * In the 2nd Edition of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', there's a Prestige Class called the Justicar who's much like a bounty hunter who specializes in subduing an enemy without killing him; being able to tie a victim up is so important for this, having a high rank in the Use Rope Skill is a prerequisite. One Class Ability is called Hog Tie, which more or less let's the Justicar tie an opponent up and render him helpless while grappling with him, usually ending the fight quickly. (Gagging is usually done after the victim is subdued.) High-level Justicars have Improved Hog Tie which is, naturally, an improvement of the standard ability. (The Prestige Class is available to PlayerCharacters, as both good ''and'' evil Justicars exist. Of course in this case, male victims can be as common as females, although seeing as the Justicar has to ''fight'' the victim to use this ability, a female victim is rarely ever helpless initially.)[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]* In ''Theatre/OneTouchOfVenus'', a screaming Gloria is tied to a barber chair by Savory and Taxi during their failed ransacking of the barbershop.* In ''Theatre/TheMostHappyFella'', Pasquale leads a group of workers in pulling a prank on Herman, tying his arms up with a string of light bulbs and putting a basket over his head, which causes him to stumble around blindly. Since he's not gagged, he can talk to Cleo, but he stubbornly refuses to complain about his situation.* In ''Theatre/ArsenicAndOldLace'', Mortimer Brewster describes how a not-too-bright character in a play he's recently seen just sits down in a chair "waiting to be trussed up and gagged," and a moment later has exactly that happen to him. The first policeman who finds him is less interested in untying him than in reading the second act of the play he's written.* In ''Theatre/{{Urinetown}}'', the start of Act Two finds Hope gagged and bound to a chair in the rebel hideout.[[/folder]]